Butjadingen
Encyclopedia
Butjadingen is a peninsula
and municipality
in the Wesermarsch
districts, in Lower Saxony
, Germany
.
coast. It is bordered on the west and southwest by the Jade River
and on the east by the Weser River
. It forms the northern part of the Wesermarsch district and has a rather low population. The political borough of Butjadingen adjoins to Nordenham
which geographically is also part of the peninsula Butjadingen.
The peninsula was formed during the Middle Ages
when huge flood
s created today's North Sea coast lines. After the disastrous Second Marcellus Flood on January 13, 1362 (which occurred around the day of Marcelli Pontificis
) Butjadingen temporarily became an island.
Its name is derived from Low German
"buten" (=outside) and "Jade" and thus means the lands on the other side of the Jade river.
In front of the peninsula is the Wadden Sea
which stretches between the Jade's and the Weser's mouths about 23 kilometres to the northwest beyond the Mellum
island. It is part of the Nationalpark Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer (Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park), one of three German Wadden Sea National Parks
.
and tourism
constitute the bulk of its economic activity. The main tourist sites are the villages of Tossens
, Burhave and Eckwarden. There are ferries
across the Weser from Nordenham to Bremerhaven
and (during summer months) across the Jade from Eckwarderhörne to Wilhelmshaven
. In Nordenham there is a train station with several connections per day to Bremen.
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
and municipality
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
in the Wesermarsch
Wesermarsch
Wesermarsch is a Kreis in the northwestern part of Lower Saxony, Germany. Neighboring are the districts of Cuxhaven and Osterholz, the city of Bremen in the state of Bremen, the urban district of Delmenhorst, the district of Oldenburg and the urban district of Oldenburg, and the districts of ...
districts, in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Geography
Butjadingen is situated on the German North SeaNorth Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
coast. It is bordered on the west and southwest by the Jade River
Jade River
The Jade is a 22 km long river in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. Its source is near Oldenburg, and it flows into the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, near Varel.- Literature :* Klaus Dede: An der Jade...
and on the east by the Weser River
Weser River
The Weser is a river in north-western Germany. Formed at Hann. Münden by the Fulda and Werra, it flows through Lower Saxony, then reaching the historic port city of Bremen before emptying into the North Sea 50 km further north at Bremerhaven, which is also a seaport...
. It forms the northern part of the Wesermarsch district and has a rather low population. The political borough of Butjadingen adjoins to Nordenham
Nordenham
Nordenham is a town in the Wesermarsch district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located at the mouth of the Weser river on the Butjadingen peninsula on the coast of the North Sea. The seaport city of Bremerhaven is located on the other side of the river...
which geographically is also part of the peninsula Butjadingen.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
when huge flood
Flood
A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...
s created today's North Sea coast lines. After the disastrous Second Marcellus Flood on January 13, 1362 (which occurred around the day of Marcelli Pontificis
Pope Marcellus I
Pope Saint Marcellus I, pope from May 308 to 309, succeeded Marcellinus, after a considerable interval, most probably in May or June 308.Under Maxentius he was banished from Rome in 309 on account of the tumult caused by the severity of the penances he had imposed on Christians who had lapsed under...
) Butjadingen temporarily became an island.
Low German
Low German or Low Saxon is an Ingvaeonic West Germanic language spoken mainly in northern Germany and the eastern part of the Netherlands...
"buten" (=outside) and "Jade" and thus means the lands on the other side of the Jade river.
In front of the peninsula is the Wadden Sea
Wadden Sea
The Wadden Sea is an intertidal zone in the southeastern part of the North Sea. It lies between the coast of northwestern continental Europe and the range of Frisian Islands, forming a shallow body of water with tidal flats and wetlands. It is rich in biological diversity...
which stretches between the Jade's and the Weser's mouths about 23 kilometres to the northwest beyond the Mellum
Mellum
Mellum is an uninhabited East Frisian island lying southeast of Wangerooge, off the coastal settlements of Horumersiel and Schillig.Mellum formed as an island off the end of the Butjadingen peninsula – which divides the outflows into the Wadden Sea of the Jade and Weser rivers – only at...
island. It is part of the Nationalpark Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer (Lower Saxony Wadden Sea National Park), one of three German Wadden Sea National Parks
Wadden Sea National Parks
The Wadden Sea National Parks, part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are located along the German coast of the North Sea. Named after the Wadden Sea, they consist of three national parks:...
.
Economy
AgricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
constitute the bulk of its economic activity. The main tourist sites are the villages of Tossens
Tossens
Tossens is a village on the Butjadingen peninsula in Germany, in the Bundesland of Niedersachsen.It effectively consists of two areas: the tourist section on the coastline of Jadebusen bay; and the original village which is further inshore....
, Burhave and Eckwarden. There are ferries
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
across the Weser from Nordenham to Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven is a city at the seaport of the free city-state of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms an enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the River Weser on its eastern bank, opposite the town of Nordenham...
and (during summer months) across the Jade from Eckwarderhörne to Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven
Wilhelmshaven is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea.-History:...
. In Nordenham there is a train station with several connections per day to Bremen.